Lily Hay Newman

According to the Agence France-Presse, "at least" one million cockroaches escaped a nursery in Jiangsu, China where they were being farmed for traditional medicine applications like cancer and inflammation treatments. The bugs got away because of an "unknown perpetrator" who tampered with the plastic greenhouse where they were being raised.

The cockroaches apparently entered the cornfields surrounding their greenhouse and are now spreading around the area. The grand escape is a big loss for cockroach owner Wang Pengsheng, who had invested about $16,000 in bringing 225 lbs of Periplaneta americana cockroach eggs to his farm and raising them, feeding them "fruits and biscuits" every day. He planned to sell them for a profit of around $74/lb. Chinese authorities are attempting to control the insects, but they're definitely coming for you while you sleep. In fact they're crawling on you right now. [PhysOrg]